When the Illinois Department of education unilaterally adopted Common Core, there was no cost analysis done to determine the financial impact on school districts. The Pioneer Institute, a non-partisan think tank has estimated that it will cost Illinois $773 million dollars to implement Common Core.

At this time, 67% of school districts are operating in a deficit. In addition to the costs associated with Common Core, school districts are threatened by the possibility of a pension cost-shift and the burden of additional unfunded mandates.

The McCarter bill urges the Illinois Superintendent of Education to delay the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and the PARCC testing until a Illinois Board of Education authorizes a study which shows the costs, and creates a viable plan to provide funding to the school district.

In addition to the McCarter resolution, Illinois State Representative Dwight Kay introduced HR0543 this summer, a similar Common Core delay resolution which has gained support. The Kay resolution was recently referred to the rules committee.